Synonyms for impulse
ˈɪm pʌlsim·pulse

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 3 votes

1. impulse

   Appetite is used only of the demands of the physical system, unless otherwise expressly stated, as when we say an appetite for knowledge; passion includes all excitable impulses of our nature, as anger, fear, love, hatred, etc. Appetite is thus more animal than passion; and when we speak of passions and appetites as conjoined or contrasted, we think of the appetites as wholly physical and of the passions as, in part at least, mental or spiritual. We say an appetite for food, a passion for fame. Compare DESIRE.

   Compare ANTIPATHY.

   Synonyms:
   appetency, appetite, craving, desire, disposition, inclination, liking, longing, lust, passion, proclivity, proneness, propensity, relish, thirst, zest

   Antonyms:
   antipathy, aversion, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, distaste, hatred, indifference, loathing, repugnance, repulsion

   Preposition:
   He had an insatiable appetite for the marvellous.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. impulse

   Synonyms:
   incentive, push, incitement, force, influence, instigation, feeling, sudden thought, motive

   Antonyms:
   rebuff, repulse, premeditation, deliberation

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.0 / 2 votes

1. urge, impulsenoun

   an instinctive motive

   "profound religious impulses"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation, itch

2. caprice, impulse, whimnoun

   a sudden desire

   "he bought it on an impulse"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, impulsion, caprice, pulse, notion, neural impulse, whimsey, pulsation, whimsy

3. nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse, impulsenoun

   the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber

   "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, momentum, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, whim, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation, urge

4. pulsation, pulsing, pulse, impulsenoun

   (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)

   "the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star"

   Synonyms:
   impulsion, pulse, beat, caprice, whim, momentum, nervous impulse, neural impulse, pulsation, heart rate, pulsing, heartbeat, nerve impulse, impetus, pulse rate, urge

5. impulse, impulsion, impetusnoun

   the act of applying force suddenly

   "the impulse knocked him over"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, drift, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation

6. momentum, impulsenoun

   an impelling force or strength

   "the car's momentum carried it off the road"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation

Matched Categories

1. • Desire
   • Drive
   • Electrical Discharge
   • Electronics
   • Force
   • Motive
   • Wave

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   thrust, push, impelling force

2. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   passion, instinct, sudden thought

3. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   incitement, instigation, motive, influence

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   motive, incentive, impulsion, impetus

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "impulse":

   impetus, momentum, pulse, boost, whim, stimulus, incentive

How to pronounce impulse?

How to say impulse in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use impulse in a sentence?

1. Robert F. Kennedy, 1966 speech to South African young people:

   Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, matched to reason and principle, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live.

2. Former President Barack Obama:

   What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life.

3. Andrew Zimbalist:

   There is likely to be a small positive impulse from it in terms of soccer's popularity but it's not going to be a sea change.

4. David Garvin:

   The presumption of expertise is a natural impulse. They asked me for advice, ergo I must know something about that subject!

5. Marquis de Sade:

   Nature, who for the perfect maintenance of the laws of her general equilibrium, has sometimes need of vices and sometimes of virtues, inspires now this impulse, now that one, in accordance with what she requires.